


The Dragon's Daughter

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Camelove [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Aithusia being a tiny ray of sunshine, Dragons, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Post-Episode: s04e04 Aithusa, Protective Kilgharrah (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29355735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: AU in which Kilgarrah is more than a bitter old lizard and actually takes care of Aithusia instead of letting her wander off to be captured, imprisoned, and maimed
Relationships: Aithusia & Kilgarrah (Merlin)
Series: Camelove [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151081
Comments: 16
Kudos: 26
Collections: Camelove 2021





	The Dragon's Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know Aithusia is male in canon but fuck that no she's not

“Aithusia, you must slow down if you’re going to catch anything,” Kilgarrah counseled. The younger dragon had just failed an attempt to grab a rabbit, which was about the right prey for her with her current size.

“Why?” She asked. It was her new favorite word. Kilgarrah had forgotten how curious young dragons were. It seemed to him like a being with thousands of years to explore the world wouldn’t be so desperate to learn about it so quickly, but any time he tried to explain that to the little dragon she just asked him 'why' again.

“Because a rabbit can reach its hole before you catch up to it if you’re too far away when it spots you.”

“Mmmhmmm!” Aithusia hummed. She was still learning how to speak, and sometimes reverted to whines or other non-human, and also non-dragon, speech.

“Yes, I know it’s frustrating,” Kilgarrah agreed, recognizing her tone. A few weeks ago he would have just snapped at her to be patient, but he had learned that if he did that, she would just fly off and hide somewhere far too small for him to follow her. Although she usually could be lured back out with food, the older dragon always worried that she wouldn’t return to him, so he’d slowly had to learn to be more patient himself. More fatherly. And gradually, Aithusia stopped running away from him quite as much.

"Why don't you fly over to the next field and try again?" He suggested. "I'll wait for you here." His bulk would scare off any prey if he went with her, but he'd be close enough to catch up to her with one powerful stroke of his wings if she ran into trouble. Kilgarrah could admit to himself that he was incredibly protective of her. When she'd first hatched from her egg, he'd had trouble identifying the feeling, since he hadn't felt it in over twenty years. After so long trapped in that accursed cave beneath the castle, the only emotions he was used to feeling were anger and despair. It was only after Merlin remarked on it that he recognized the instinct for what it was.

"You'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?" The young dragon lord had remarked, looking up at him with that same boyish wonder as when they'd first met. Aithusia has fallen into a blackberry bramble and gotten thorns stuck between her scales. Kilgarrah himself was far too large to be able to help her, so he'd nestled the injured little dragon between his own wings and flown as close to Camelot as he dared before calling out psychically to the sorcerer. It was a huge risk that he would be spotted, and normally he never came so near unless Merlin had summoned  _ him _ , but he'd had to get Aithusia help. The dragon lord had of course been more than happy to assist, cradling the little dragon in his lap while carefully removing the thorns from her hide.

"Yes, Merlin, I suppose I would," Kilgarrah admitted to the boy. Although, he really was more of a young man now. The dragon had a hard time keeping track of the ages of humans; they grew up so fast.

Much like Aithusia was doing. In less than a year, she had already tripled in weight and almost doubled in length. Despite that, it would still take her a century to reach full size, though. Kilgarrah hoped that maybe then he might be able to stop worrying so much, as she'd be too large for almost anything to pose a danger to her, but at the same time, he was selfishly glad that he'd have so long with her as a child. He would miss her antics when she grew up, he thought to himself as he watched her pursue a sparrow into the forest. The fun was good for a grumpy old dragon like him, and more than he had ever expected to, he loved having a daughter.


End file.
